Containers being loaded at Cat Lai Port in HCM City. The Department of Transport has asked the city to give priority to six key transport projects to clear congestion on roads leading to ports.

Under the public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period, of the six projects, three are being developed, including the My Thuy intersection project and the other two under the Ring Road 2 project.

The three newly proposed projects would include one to build a six-lane 6.7km-long and 60-metre wide North - South road (section from Nguyen Van Linh Road – Ba Chiem Bridge), with total investment of 7.013 trillion VND.

The other two include a project to build the eastern belt route from Phu My bridge to My Thuy intersection (in Thu Duc city), with an investment of more than 1.2 trillion VND.

Another project involves building an eastern ring road from My Thuy intersection to Nguyen Duy Trinh - Ring Road 2 intersection, expected to cost more than 1 trillion VND.

These newly proposed projects will improve the connection between the Hiep Phuoc Port in Nha Be district and Cat Lai Port in District 2.

The department said the city should consider suspending or extending completion of projects that have been approved for 2016-2020 period but are not urgent.

Tran Quang Lam, director of the Department of Transport, said it was important to address the traffic jams on roads leading to Cat Lai Port in District 2, especially Nguyen Thi Dinh street and the My Thuy intersection.

The city’s seaports extend through districts 2, 4, 7, 9 and Nha Be, he said.

Most roads connected to Cat Lai and Hiep Phuoc ports are seriously overloaded, including Nguyen Thi Dinh, Nguyen Duy Trinh and Nguyen Huu Tho roads, he added.

Ports located in the city centre, such as Cat Lai, Tan Thuan, Hiep Phuoc and Phuoc Long ports, lack dedicated roads.

Architect Vo Kim Cuong, former deputy chief architect of HCM City, said that Hiep Phuoc and Cat Lai ports are the city’s largest ports, which face serious congestion. It is important to accelerate the closure of Ring Road 2 to clear congestion near the Cat Lai port area.

Dr Nguyen Ba Hoang, vice rector of the HCM City University of Transport, said that rail and water transport connected to the ports should be developed to increase the capacity of freight transport and reduce costs.

It is also vital to close the ring road system and build dedicated railways to Cai Mep and Cat Lai ports.

In a related matter, the city will continue to move its ports to city outskirts to ease congestion on roads as well as build new ones under a national port master plan for 2020-2030.

Cat Lai Port, situated in the eastern gateway, has long been a traffic congestion hotspot with an average of 16,000-17,000 trucks making trips to it daily.

According to the city Maritime Port Administration, between 19,000 and 20,000 trucks each day enter and leave Cat Lai Port through Vo Chi Cong, Nguyen Thi Dinh and Dong Van Cong roads.

There are times when 26,000 vehicles are going in and out the port a day, causing traffic jams in the port area./. VNS

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